Since 2023, we have supported Grambangla’s efforts to reduce social and economic inequality by providing education scholarships for 60 vulnerable girls. These scholarships teach sewing and tailoring skills, helping them build a life beyond working as waste pickers on the landfill sites in Matuail, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The Matuail landfill site is a central hub for rubbish from the city and a source of income for many poor families. Waste pickers work in this hazardous environment, collecting items such as cow horns, metal, glass, and plastics, which they sell by weight and type to earn a living.

Life-changing and even fatal accidents can occur in this environment, from unsanitary conditions to the large vehicles that move about, crushing and compacting waste. For young children, however, this work is a vital source of income to support their families, whose parents are often waste pickers themselves.

Grambangla’s vital work supports vulnerable girls to build a life away from waste picking on landfill sites, helping to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and hazardous labor. The project will provide a full journey from education to employment for 60 girls aged 14–17. Each girl will receive a vocational scholarship in tailoring and sewing, including six months of accredited training at the Grambangla Technical Training Centre. Registered with the Bangladesh Technical Education Board in 2016, the centre is government-accredited, preparing graduates for employment or self-employment.

In addition to developing their technical skills, the girls receive nutritious meals, skills training to prepare them for work and assistance in obtaining their birth certificates, an essential form of identification needed for formal employment and access to government benefits.

After completing their training, the girls are supported into employment through the programme, with the goal of doubling their earnings—from £40 per month as waste pickers to over £80 per month in safer jobs with better working conditions.

We are proud to continue supporting Grambangla’s work to provide young girls in Bangladesh the opportunity to move into safer work and improve their future livelihoods and wellbeing. Find out more about Grambangla here. If you would like to support Traid’s work donate here.